Jeanette Galanis, national field director for the organization, said what spending decisions were still being made but she believed a “workable budget” for the push in New York would be $1.5 million.

The tacit message I heard here was that if Gov. Andrew Cuomo really pushes on campaign finance reform — he mentioned the need for reform during his State of the State presentation but has been relatively quiet since — he can do himself a solid in the eyes of union and other lefties on the national scene if he makes progress. Three major unions, the CWA, UAW and SEIU sent Cuomo a letter after his first announcement.

Recall Cuomo pissed off national labor leaders by successfully advocating reduced pension benefits for new public workers, a move supported by local elected officials who say it will save property taxpayers money.

As Galanis said, “Governor Cuomo has a real opportunity here to solidify himself as a national reformer.”